For New York property managers and real estate investment managers, July 31 is a pinnacle date to remember: it is the deadline for filing the Annual Apartment Registration with the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR), the official documentation on which rent rolls will be based for the upcoming year. From SCRIE/DRIE exemptions for seniors and disabled New Yorkers to ever-changing rent control regulations, DHCR apartment registration must take into consideration all the perks and quirks of NYC real estate rules. With all of this information and its various moving parts, there is perhaps no process as central to a New York property manager’s income projections as the DHCR registration.

While technically, July 31 is two and a half months away, registrations are actually based on the billings and status of units in April. In other words, as of today, New York property managers have less than a month to make sure their data is as up-to-date and accurate as possible.

For property managers who use Yardi, they already have a considerable leg up on this business-critical process. Not only does Yardi automatically store vital information (major capital improvements, SCRIE/DRIEs, succession rules, just to name a few), but the Yardi New York module also allows NYC property mangers to complete the July 31 registration directly from Yardi itself. (For more on the essential Yardi New York module, see here.)

Regardless, whether you use Yardi, MRI, or even (gasp!) a home-built program, the time is now to make sure you’re filing properly.

For starters, March is an absolutely critical time to print and review your rent rolls. Whereas some hyper-diligent property managers may print this once or twice a month (or more), this isn’t always the case. All New York property managers should print their rent rolls at least three times a month in the first three months of the year, as part of your DHCR registration prep work.

This pre-registration season is also a good time to double-check that your systems are working as they should. You may find, for instance, that your lease renewals are populating correctly, but that your lease charges are not. This means that, not only have you lost money this past year that was rightfully yours, but if you don’t get this information in order before April, you will lose out on it for the next year, too.

Inaccurate DHCR filings not only put you at risk of being in noncompliance with any one of the various New York regulations, but it could also eat away at your bottom line, and sometimes in a big way. Optimizing your system and ensuring data accuracy is essential, and the time for New York property managers to do it is now.